Plants can live and produce fruit for decades, although drought and or heat in summer can diminish production and quality.

Coffee requires a dry period in the spring,and heavy rains in this season can disrupt flowering.

Global climate change will impact coffee growing and production.

Instability brought on by droughts and floods, and unusual cold spells, pests whose range will also change as temperatures rise.

Farmers are left with few choices. Most small owners do not have the money or credit to buy property, even if it is available to purchase; most land is already under ownership that is passed down within families.If converting and clearing the land of existing forests occur, the old coffee farms will have to be converted to other crops, none likely to be as environmentally friendly as shade coffee.

What does this mean? Deforestation of new and old coffee farms,changing coffee to other crops will add to and accelerate warming trends, since trees help hold in carbon and buffer temperature changes.

Terrific posting, despote the fact that I am weaning myself away from coffee! I would love to read the article in that issue of Whole Earth about global coffee addiction.Thanks for this posting and best to L!